Now of All Times
by UniqaChica
Summary: Skimble is confused, Jenny is scared, and something bigger than the both of them is resting on their shoulders.  For Jellicle Week March.
1. Owner's House

(A/N: Yay! Jellicle Week time again! Even though it's now silently morphed into "Jellicle Month", but whatevs. Khaos, you have no idea how much I look forward to these – they are so much fun! Anyway, ON WITH THE FIC! Hope you enjoy!)

Summary: Skimble is confused, Jenny is scared, and something bigger than the both of them is resting on their shoulders.

Disclaimer: If I owned "Cats", do you think I would be writing FANfiction about it? ...Don't answer that.

Now of All Times

A Skimbleshanks/Jennyanydots Fanfic

by Jill Diamond

~Chapter One~

_[Owner's House]_

_ZIP!_

An orange and brown blur thundered through the living room, giving the older male human reading in the easy chair quite a jump. He straightened his glasses and tried to get back to the paper, but the furry comet came zooming in from the other direction and bolted up the stairs, nearly knocking over his wife as she came down.

Oh, Skimbleshanks was very much distressed. He had to be at the station in less than an hour, and he had completely _lost _his pocket watch! How in Heavyside's name had he let himself do such a thing?

He hopped in and out of the children's bedrooms on the upper floor, not finding his gold trinket in even the tiniest of crawlspaces, and then skidded back downstairs to once again check around his bed next to the washing machine.

No such luck. He had half a mind to rip open the lining of his cushy pillow-bed to see if his watch had somehow gotten inside, but decided against it, as he didn't want to annoy his humans any more today.

Zippity-dash to the father's study to only be disappointed as he rifled through the contents of his desk drawers. Once more to the kitchen, gaining a bite of breakfast sausage from each of the children, to hop up onto his favorite perch above the cabinets. The only thing they contained was dust.

If he had the time, he would have dusted them himself with his tail, but time literally was of the essence, and he hopped down gracefully to bolt for the master bedroom.

Aha! Victory!

Skimbleshanks spied the glinting loveliness out of the corner of his eye. The missus had laid it on the table of her vanity! He should have expected her to do such a thing. He pounced up to the curtained stool that stood before the vanity, and then snatched up his most prized possession, kissing it soundly on the lid. He hooked the chain carefully to the inside of his pocket, where it belonged, then after checking the two little hands' positions, jauntily trotted towards the front door and slipped through the cat flap.

"_I swear, Adeline, that cat gets crazier every week!" _he heard the husband exclaim.

After a bit of chuckling, he turned on his heel and started to walk for the station, but there was someone there to intercept.

"Morning, Skimble."

A/N: Sorry first chap is so short! Next one will be much longer! Pinkie swear!


	2. Right as Rain

~Chapter Two~

_[Right as Rain]_

There stood Jennyanydots, looking radiant as ever, her bright hazel eyes sparkling at the sight of the Railway Cat. She seemed to have a piece of her crochet work draped around her shoulders, of soft green and rich royal blue that formed an elegant striped pattern. He smiled involuntarily at the sight of her. His Jenny.

"I just finished this last night; thought you might want it for your trip." She nearly skipped over to him and looped the scarf around Skimbleshank's neck, tying it loosely. "It gets cold up north."

The tom felt his heart beat a little louder in his chest when he felt her paw brush against his fur, and couldn't help but let a half a second of purring slip from his throat. He and Jennyanydots had been together for months now, but she never failed to make him feel like a kitten on nip.

"Oh, don't you worry about me, love," he tutted, even though he wanted her to. They started to walk down the sidewalk.

"I know, I know," she hummed with a smile. "You'll be 'right as rain' as you always say."

The couple continued to pad down the pavement in comfortable silence, then Skimbleshanks piped up again as they turned a corner.

"So how 'bout you? How have you been?"

He thought he saw Jennyanydots bite her lip a little, and her chest rose and fell heavily with a sigh before she spoke.

"Fine."

The orange tabby furrowed his brow slightly.

"Just...fine?"

The Gumbie queen raised her tucked chin and peeked at him, her eyes searching his. For what, Skimbleshanks didn't know, but they almost had a desperate glaze to them that made him subconsciously stop in his tracks. She stopped as well, and the silence reappeared. But less comfortable than last time. In fact, it was almost painful.

Jennyanydots blinked and started to stutter.

"I-I'm fine, Skimble. Really." Her front paws shuffled a little before she suddenly leaped and wrapped her paws around his neck. "I'll miss you," she whispered, brushing a kiss against his cheek.

His eyes fluttered slightly, a bit of the nip syndrome coming back, and then he laced his arms protectively around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible.

"I love you," he answered at a similar volume.

The couple continued to walk. They parted ways when they passed the Junkyard, but not without another kiss, and then the Railway tom started to pick up the pace as he headed for the station.


	3. Flowers

(A/N: Two chapters in one day. MWAHAHA.)

~Chapter Three~

_[Flowers]_

Skimbleshanks began to slow his momentum as he reached the cobblestone platform and breathed the steam from the anxious engine. He brought his tail close, as to not be stepped on by the hundreds of frantic passengers running about and shouting.

Giving a quick glance towards the ticket booth to make sure he had the right time on his watch, he skidded quickly for the closest rear entrance, gaining a tip of the hat from the porter as he slipped into the kitchen of all places.

"Aha! Right on schedule!" the cook cried in her thick accent. She wiped her plump hands on her apron, already smudged with some sort of grease. "See, dearie? He's always 'ere, and right 'ere he jolly well is." That's when the tabby cat noticed the little girl sitting next to the furnace, who seemed to have chosen today to be decked out in flowers. Her starched petticoats peeked out from her daisy-printed dress, and from what brown curls weren't hidden by the hood of her evergreen wool coat, Skimbleshanks could see that small yellow wildflowers had been plaited into her hair.

The station master's youngest daughter's enormous blue eyes lit up as she spotted her favorite mouser, and instantly initiated their beloved game of chase, with the cook calling motherly warnings after them as they ran down the isles of the cars.

"C'mere, kitty cat!" the little girl squealed, making a busboy nearly drop his tray as she darted past him.

The orange tabby smiled to himself as he entertained his friend, bobbing and weaving every which way among the seats in the cars, leading her all the way to the conductor's room. His hind feet swung out in front of him as she carefully snatched at the collar of his vest and brought him up in an adoring snuggle, allowing her brown tendrils to tickle his whiskers. A light purr rumbled in his throat as he rubbed his head against her arm, and relished in her laughter.

The station master's daughter reached up with her free hand and slowly pulled at a flower that had been woven in close to her hairline until it was free. She held it by the stem in her tiny fingers and dangled the petals just over Skimbleshanks' nose.

"Here, kitty. You can have this one. It doesn't wanna stay put."

Skimbleshanks immediately took in a large whiff, nearly inhaling the petals. The scent instantly gave him a calming sensation with it's sweet, creamy scent.

"_Jenny would love these flowers," _he couldn't help but think.

His mind couldn't help but return to earlier that day. Jennyanydots hadn't seemed entirely sure of herself as she told him she was "fine". He remembered that look in her hazel eyes, and he almost saw...fear. But not the fear of a monster under the bed, just the vague fear of the unknown. He knew her ear twitched whenever she was nervous, and he now recalled that he had seen her ear twitch many times during that conversation. He was now truly worried about his Jenny. Was she sick? Was she having a fight with her sister? Was it _him? _No. Surely not. It couldn't be...could it?

"Now, darling," the tired-looking station master started, breaking Skimbleshanks out of his trance, "kitty cat's got a lot o' work to do, so why don't you get back in the kitchen and have Cook fix you a little somethin'."

"Oh, but Papa..." the little girl whined, loosening her arms and giving Skimbleshanks opportunity for a jailbreak. He gladly took it.

"Tsk, tsk, come on now, buttercup; it's almost time to depart!" The station master patted his hand on his youngest daughter's back, and with a fallen face, she once again began to maneuver through the pre-trip madness in the passenger cars. Her father smiled at her retreating form in pity, and then bent down to his best mouser as if ready to give a pep talk.

"Alrighty, cat, we're gonna by facing a real doozy over the next couple o' days. It's gonna be the London Blitz all over again, and those mice are gonna be the Nazis. And you will not let them destroy our fortress of solitude, am I right?"

The tabby tom meowed a confirmation.

"That's me boy!" he said with a pet on Skimbleshanks' head. "Now get out there and do your stuff!"

The loyal cat saluted with his tail, and then scampered to the back as well to wait for the "all clear".


	4. Never as happy or unhappy as we imagine

~Chapter Four~

_[Never as happy or unhappy as we imagine.]_

"Jelly, are...are you sure?" Jennyanydots asked quietly, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Everything seems to lead back to it. I don't see what else it could be. I'm surprised you haven't seen it yourself."

The younger sister let Jellylorum's words sink it, each one sounding alien but making sense all the same.

"Well? Say something."

For briefly, Jennyanydots couldn't even bring herself to move, but she found herself feigning a smile.

"I-I guess it would have had to happen sooner or later..." she mumbled. She unnecessarily brushed herself off and headed quickly for the door. "I've got to go."

"Jenny..."

"I'm fine! Really," she retorted, slipping out the little hole her sister used for a door. The Gumbie queen bolted across to the east side of the 'yard, where she knew she could be alone, and let her tears fall as they wanted to.

Kittens. _Kittens._ This couldn't be happening. She had only become an adult just last year. It had only been one time – she and Skimbleshanks weren't even _mated _yet. She was supposed to be the brave queen of the Junkyard, but she wasn't at this particular moment. She was scared stiff. She wasn't ready for this. She may have been later after she had been properly mated, but not now. Not like this. Skimbleshanks wasn't even there when she needed him. She knew her sister was always there for her, but she only wanted him. She only wanted her Skimble. And he was Everlasting knew how many miles away. She continued to cry on the beaten old pillow she lay on 'til she fell asleep, dreaming of simpler times.

(A/N: Never mind the shortness. I really didn't have a lot of time to write this one.)


	5. Quick Apology

Hi all. I just wanted to make a quick apology to all of those that were reading this story. I feel worse than I can say that I didn't finish this story in time. But these last few days have been really hectic trying to get my grades up, and my teachers kept dropping these ridiculous projects on me - there was no time to even think about Jellicle Week.

BroadwayKhaos, I want to especially apologize to you, because I told you in the first chapter of this thing how much I loved Jellicle Week, and then I just go and let you down. Don't think I'm trying to be a kiss up - I truly feel awful. When and if you have another Jellicle Week, I promise to manage my time better and actually make the deadline. And it will be FULL effort.

So yeah, guys. Maybe next time.

-Jill


End file.
